July 19, 1799 – The “Rosetta Stone” was found by one of
Napoleon’s soldiers at a port town on the Mediterranean coast, about 35 miles
north of Alexandria, Egypt. Containing fragments of Greek and Egyptian, it held
the key to translating hieroglyphics.

July 19, 1814 – Firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt was born
in Hartford, Conn.

July 19, 1832 – The village of Walker’s Mill (present-day
Monroeville, Ala.) got its first post office, and Joel Rawls was named the
first postmaster. Rawls had a general store on the town square, and the post
office was probably located within his store. Rawls named the community
Centreville because it lay in the center of the county.

July 19, 1834 – French Impressionist Edgar Degas was born in
Paris.

July 19, 1848 – The first women’s rights conference in
history was organized in Seneca Falls, N.Y. by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her
friend Lucretia Mott.

July 19, 1860 - Lizzie Borden was born in Fall River, Mass.
She is best remembered for being tried and acquitted for the 1892 axe murders
of her father and her stepmother in Fall River. The case was a cause célèbre
throughout the United States.

July 19, 1861 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought on the Black River Road and another near the New
Market Bridge in Virginia. Confederate troops continued being moved along the
Manassas Gap Railroad from the Shenandoah Valley to strengthen the Confederate
position along the Bull Run line.

July 19, 1861 – The Alabama River
Rangers became one of 10 companies which formed the 13th Alabama
Infantry Regiment. The regiment left Montgomery for Virginia, where it went to
Yorktown and was under the command of General Rains.

July 19, 1862 – During the Civil
War, a four-day Federal operation began in Polk and Dallas counties in Missouri,
and a two-day Federal operation began between Fredericksburg and Beaver Dam
Station in Virginia. A skirmish was also fought at Brownsville, Tenn.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil
War, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into Union-held territory was
dealt a serious blow when a large part of his force was captured as they tried
to escape across the Ohio River at Buffington Island, Ohio. Cut off from the
south, Morgan fled north with the remnants of his command and was captured a
week later at Salineville, Ohio.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Brandon and the hamlet of Danville in
Mississippi; and with Indians on the Rio de las Animas in the New Mexico
Territory. Two days of skirmishing also began near Hedgesville and Martinsburg
in West Virginia.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil
War, a 10-day Federal operation began in the vicinity of Trenton, Tenn.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil
War, Confederate Lt. Gen. Daniel H. Hill was assigned to the command of the 2nd
Confederate Army Corps, relieving Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee, Army of the
Tennessee, under Confederate General Braxton Bragg. Hardee refused to serve
under Bragg, and it became a messy affair.

July 19, 1864 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Little Rock, Ark.; at Decatur and Peach Tree
Creek in Georgia; in Washington County, Mo., southwest of Potosi; and at
Ashby’s Gap and at Berry’s Ford, Va. Skirmishing and maneuvering also continued
all along the Atlanta, Georgia front, and multiple skirmishes were fought at
Bunker Hill, Charlestown, Darkesville, and Kabletown in West Virginia.

July 19, 1864 – During the Civil
War, Federal activity occurred in the vicinity of Taos, Mo.

July 19, 1879 - Doc Holliday committed
his first murder, shooting former army scout Mike Gordon for shooting up his
Las Vegas, New Mexico saloon. Gordon died the next day.

July 19, 1886 – Monroe County commissioners court was
scheduled to convene on this Monday in Monroeville.

July 19, 1896 - Mr. A.T. Sowell, the “handsome and popular”
salesman for the Bear Creek Mill Co., was in Monroeville, Ala. on this Sunday
on his “bike.”

July 19, 1898 – H.P. Lovecraft’s
father, Winfield Scott Lovecraft, died at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode
Island. A traveling salesman for Gorham & Co., Silversmiths of Providence,
W.S. Lovecraft suffered a nervous breakdown in a hotel room in Chicago and was
brought back to Butler Hospital, where he remained for five years before dying
on July 19, 1898.

July 19, 1898 – Novelist Emile Zola
fled France in the wake of what would become known as the “Dreyfus Affair.”

July 19, 1901 – The Southwest
Alabama Agricultural School’s board of control met in Evergreen, Ala. on this
Friday and elected Prof. J.A. Duncan, who had been teaching at Lowndesboro, as
principal. Prof. L.A. Smith of Ozark was chosen as first assistant principal,
and Mrs. L.A. Smith was elected as music teacher.

July 19, 1906 – Monroeville, Ala.
marshal C.E. Hunter overheard an incriminating conversation between two men in
seats near him on the train between Monroeville and Peterman, which led him to
arrest C.S. Bowen, who was wanted for shooting and killing Charles Revill in
Opp on July 12.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that Capt. Luck
Wainwright, the oldest river steamboatman in Alabama, died at Jackson the week
before.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that rainfall
had been heavy in most parts of Monroe County during the past week to 10 days,
and there were already complaints in some sections of too much moisture. Also
that week, in news from the Wesley Chapel community, The Journal reported that
most of the farmers were behind with their work on account of so much rain.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from
the Jones Mill and Snider communities, that Clay Hybart’s new house was nearing
completion.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that I.A.
Weaver, who served as principal of the Monroe Institute during the 1905
session, was now editor of the Lineville Headlight, published at his hometown,
Lineville.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from
the Pineville community, that Miss Gennie Burns had began teaching a school at
Cuba, near Livingston.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that Mr. E.T.
Blackburn was teaching a “flourishing” school near the Monday community.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that Capt. C.M.
Marriott was “up from Homewood last week attending the commissioners court.”

July 19, 1909 - The first
unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball was made by Cleveland Indians
shortstop Neal Ball in a game against Boston.

July 19, 1909 – Hall of Fame
pitcher Cy Young earned his 500th career pitching victory.

July 19, 1911 – The State Baptist
Convention was scheduled to begin in Greenville, Ala.

July 19, 1914 – Sarah Fox Cunningham,
wife of the late Dr. William Cunningham, passed away at the age of 91. Born
March 2, 1823, she was one of Conecuh County, Alabama’s oldest residents and
was buried in the Cunningham Cemetery at Tunnel Springs.

July 19, 1915 – “Lola,” a silent
film starring Clara Kimball Young, was scheduled to be shown at the Arcade
Theatre in Evergreen, Ala. at 5:45 p.m. Admission was 10 cents and 20 cents.

July 19, 1915 – The Hon. H.C. Miller of Birmingham, the
Grand Master of Masons of Alabama, passed through Monroeville on this Monday on
his way to Uriah for the Monroe County Masonic Conference.

July 19-20, 1915 – The Monroe County Masonic Conference was
held at Blacksher Lodge, No. 593, at Uriah, Ala. Eleven of the 12 lodges in
Monroe County were represented at the Conference, and 102 Masons attended the
event. Grand Master H.C. Miller of Birmingham conducted the conference and
instructed the craft in the ritualistic work, and Dr. J.H. McCormick of Mobile
gave lectures on the various phases of Masonry.

July 19, 1916 - Mrs. Alice Price, the 35-year-old wife of
W.F. Price, residing near Castleberry, committed suicide on this Wednesday
morning by cutting her throat “from ear to ear with a razor. She left a note
stating that she was tired of life. Mrs. Price has been in ill health for a
number of years and it is believed that she was temporarily insane at the time
she committed the act.” Born on Oct. 4, 1880, she was buried in Mt. Union
Cemetery in Conecuh County.

July 19, 1919 - The Cenotaph, a monument to those killed or wounded during
the First World War, was unveiled in Whitehall, London, during the first Peace
Day celebration.

July 19, 1922 – Politician George
McGovern, a leading opponent of the war in Vietnam, was born in Avon, South
Dakota.

July 19, 1934 – Evergreen’s
baseball team was scheduled to play Luverne on this Thursday afternoon in
Luverne, Ala.

July 19, 1934 – The Monroe Journal reported, under the
headline “KATZ STORE OBSERVES 20TH ANNIVERSARY,” that 20 years
before, Mr. M. Katz opened for business in Monroeville in the building next
door to the Barnett & Jackson Hardware store. Years later, Katz erected the
brick building he occupied in 1934 on the southwest corner of the square. This
store was celebrating its 20th anniversary in 1934 with a big sale.
Everything in the store had been reduced.

July 19, 1940 – During what is now
known as the “Field Marshal Ceremony,” Hitler appointed field marshals due to
military achievements for the first time in World War II.

July 19, 1941 - The first black
pilots in the American military begin their primary flight training at Tuskegee
Institute's Moton Field. This first class of "Tuskegee Airmen"
graduated the next March after transferring to Tuskegee Army Air Field to
complete their training. The group saw its first action in World War II in 1943
as members of the segregated 99th Fighter Squadron of the Army Air Corps.

July 19, 1949 – Gene Raynor of
Fitzgerald, Ga. arrived in Evergreen, Ala. to assume his duties as the new
manager of the Pix Theatre, succeeding Clarence E. Moses, who has been
transferred to Marietta, Ga., where he was to serve as manager of one of the
Martin theatres in that city.

July 19, 1950 – Army Cpl. Ernest C.
South, 18, of Covington County, Ala. was killed in action in Korea while
serving with the 34th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division. Born
on Dec. 24, 1931, he was buried in Fairmount Cemetery in Red Level in Covington
County, Ala.

July 19, 1953 – The Evergreen
Greenies beat the Florala State Liners, 6-2, on this Sunday afternoon in
Florala behind the pitching of George Gaston. Gaston struck out 13, and Florala
scored their only two runs in the seventh inning. The Greenies were held
scoreless by Florala’s Bartow until the fourth inning when Ronnie Edson’s
single chased home two runs. In the fifth, the Greenies added three more runs
using two singles, a walk and an error to good advantage. Gillis Jones and J.W.
Windham came through with timely singles to spark the rally. Florala got back
in the ball game in the seventh when Gaston weakened and gave up three singles.
The hits coupled with a Greenie miscue were good for two runs. Evergreen added
its final run in the ninth, the run coming when Jones singled behind Cullen
Edson’s triple. Jones was the batting star of the day as he collected four hits
in five trips to the platter, including a double. He also crossed the plate
with two runs. Cullen and Ronnie Edson got the other hits.

July 19, 1954 - The first
part of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The
Fellowship of the Ring” was published on this day.

July 19, 1959 - A radio version of
Alabama author Ambrose Bierce's story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek
Bridge" was broadcast as part of the “Suspense” series.

July 19, 1960 - Juan Marichal of
the San Francisco Giants became the first pitcher to get a one-hitter in his
major league debut.

July 19, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that
Evergreen Postmaster Bill Salter had asked the city to cut a path through from
the dead end of Martin Street in the C.P. Strong subdivision to Highway 31
South to facilitate mail delivery to homes in that section. The path would
permit the city mail carrier to make his rounds here without having to double
back. The Evergreen city council voted for city crews to cut the path through
the undergrowth, provided property owners agreed.

July 19, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that pictures
of the Evergreen area were being featured on the six o’clock newscasts of
television station WALA, Channel 10, in Mobile, according to the Evergreen
Chamber of Commerce. Pictures were to be shown on the Friday night and
Wednesday night newscasts, according to present scheduling, according to Claude
Evans of the station’s news staff. The pictures were from the C of C’s new
information pamphlet recently prepared and published under the direction of
Blake Campbell, publicity and promotion chairman Blake Campbell. Arrangements
for the news-picture spots were made by Billy Moody of local Radio WBLO who did
spot reports for the TV station and Waynard Price, chamber president.

July 19, 1963 – The Moundville
Archaeological Site in Moundville, Ala. was named a National Historic Landmark.

July 19, 1964 - The TV show “The
Twilight Zone” aired its final episode on CBS after a five-year run.

July 19, 1964 – During the Vietnam War, on what the South
Vietnamese called the “Day of Shame”– the 10th anniversary of the signing of
the Geneva Accords that partitioned Vietnam – South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen
Khanh, at a rally in Saigon, called for an expansion of the war to North
Vietnam.

July 19, 1966 - At the Astrodome,
the first Major League Baseball game to be played totally on artificial turf
took place. Prior to this game, the outfield had consisted of painted dirt and
the infield was covered with artificial turf.

July 19, 1971 - In New York, the
topping out ceremony for Two World Trade Center (South Tower) took place. The
ceremony for One World Trade Center had taken place on December 23, 1970.

July 19, 1972 – A “posse” of about
25 men scoured Marzolf Hill in Missouri – the snake-infested, cave-packed
terrain where the Harrison children had first sighted the “Missouri Monster” –
and didn’t even find a rabbit. Police Chief Shelby Ward told the media that he
was satisfied that there was no longer a monster on Marzolf Hill.

July 19, 1972 - Washington and
Hanoi announced that the private Paris peace talks had resumed. Henry Kissinger
and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho conferred for over six hours and, by
mutual agreement, neither side revealed details of the meetings.

July 19, 1974 - The House Judiciary
Committee recommended that U.S. President Richard Nixon should stand trial in
the Senate for any of the five impeachment charges against him.

July 19, 1976 – Actor Benedict
Cumberbatch was born in Hammersmith, London, England.

July 19, 1979 – The Evergreen
Courant reported that 24-year-old Roger Pritchard, a graduate assistant
football coach at Alabama State University in Montgomery, had been named head
football and basketball coach at Lyeffion High School. Pritchard, a native of
Fort Myers, Fla., was a three-year regular at linebacker for the Hornets after
transferring to ASU from The Citadel. He was a 1972 graduate of North Fort
Myers High School where he was a star football player.

July 19, 1979 – The Conecuh County
High School Quarterback Club was scheduled to meet on this Thursday night at
7:30 p.m. in the school lunchroom in Castleberry, Ala. The football team’s new
coach, Doug Williamson, was scheduled to meet the public at the event.

July 19, 1985 - Christa McAuliffe
of New Hampshire was chosen to be the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the
space shuttle. She died with six others when the Challenger exploded the
following year.

July 19, 1986 - Chon Mitchell of
Evergreen High School was crowned Conecuh County’s 1987 Junior Miss at the 1987
Junior Miss Pageant held at the new Wiley Salter Auditorium at Ed Reid State
Technical College in Evergreen, Ala.

July 19, 1990 - Two enlisted men
stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina lost their lives when the 1988 Ford
Ranger they were riding in went over a bridge on Interstate Highway 65 at the
106-mile marker. Their truck was airborne for over 100 feet before landing on
its top at the bottom of the bridge some 34 feet down. The accident took place just
inside the Conecuh County, Ala. line.

July 19, 1996 - HBO aired the final
episode of "Tales from the Crypt."

July 19, 1998 – Swedish journalist
and lake monster hunter Jan Sundberg told Reuters that the echoing equipment
that he used on his expedition to Seljord Lake in 1977 had detected large
objects moving under the water in unison and separating in different
directions.

July 19, 2007 – Paranormal investigator
and newspaper columnist George Buster Singleton passed away at the age of 79 at
the Monroe Manor Nursing Home in Monroeville, Ala. Singleton was a native of
Marengo County and was a member of the Monroeville First Baptist Church. He was
a retired warrant officer of the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War.
Born on Dec. 14, 1927, he was buried in the Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville.

July 19, 2007 – One week after
signing a minor league contract with the Mets, Marlon Anderson of Montgomery,
Ala. was called up to play for the Mets. Ironically, he started his first game
back with the Mets against the Dodgers, the team that had just released him. He
had a 2-RBI single in that game.

July 19, 2007 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Cassie Gomes,
nine, of Bossier City, La. had won that year’s Bayou State 3-D Archery State
Championship. Gomes, a fourth-grader at Benton (La.) Elementary School,
captured top honors in the Pee Wee Division at the event, which was held on
June 9 at the Fort Buhlow Recreation Area in Pineville, La. Gomes was the
daughter of Heath Gomes and Summer Coleman. She was also the granddaughter of
Ivon and Mary Gomes of Andalusia and the great-granddaughter of Bob and Lillie
Gaskin of Evergreen.

July 19, 2008 - Monroe County’s Babe Ruth all-star team was
scheduled to begin play in the Babe Ruth League state baseball tournament for
players ages 13-15 in Bay Minette on this Saturday against nine other teams
from across the state. Monroe County was to open play in the 10-team tournament
at 10 a.m. on this Saturday morning against nine other teams from across the
state. Players on Monroe County’s team included Monterrious Kidd, Sam
Vermilyea, Logan Smith, C.J. Andrews, Brad Mitchell, Tyler Gregson, Tanner
Smith, Hunter Lewis, Dexter Turberville and Grant Norris. The team’s coaches
included Linc Lewis and Don Smith.